Lean Six Sigma

The 8th Lean Six Sigma is now concluded...but this blog will continue and readers are invited to continue to share their thoughts and insights.

I have been struck by the quality of the individual breakout sessions...some really in-depth and thought provoking ideas were shared.  The entire conference seemed focued for experienced practitioners looking beyond the basics.  A couple of the sessons really stretched my thinking. I do not know if that was the plan, but it seemed to be that way for me.

My only frustration was that I could not attend as many sessions that interested me and that I did not have much time to meet with anyone who had attended those sessions.  I wish that I had someone with me and we could have planned to split up and then debrief each other.

Sunny days in Phoneix were fun, too.  Hotel food was good.  And now it is back to work...and for many of us very cold weather.  The good news is the 9th annual conference will be held 2/3 March of 09.  So mark your calendar.

Many thanks to the conference organizers....obviously lots of hard work went into the preparation and executiion....Good job!

See you here in Phoenix next year,

Russ

Posted by Dr. C.W. Russ Russo at 06:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

A business colleague (not a quality person) recently asked me: What is the difference between Lean Six Sigma and Six Sigma? 

I opened my mouth confident that I knew, but then closed it without saying anything, because I realized that I wasn't really sure. It seems to me that it is not so much a difference as it is a matter of degree.  Obviously they are closely related, but Lean probably relies on less complicated statistics, uses more basic tools, and is applied more generally than in highly technical settings where 6-Sigma might be used.

More to the point however, is my colleague’s confusion about yet another bit of q-jargon or label that gives non-q folks the impression that we are constantly jumping from one failed approach to another --- the “flavor of the month” and its related complaint – we are promoting a panacea – the latest and greatest that will solve all our difficulties.
An interesting point made at the MBB dinner the other night is that we are in the business of process improvement….and therefore it makes sense that we would improve our own professional practices.  If we look at the quality profession over the last 50 years, it has been a progression of adopting new tools without necessarily discarding what has come before.  As we communicate with our non-q colleagues, it might be helpful to help them understand this point.

My two cents
Russ

 

 

Posted by Dr. C.W. Russ Russo at 12:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Scott Gray, VP  Corp Qual from Eaton gave the Tuesday morning Keynote.  The idea that Eaton lives and breaths its values system -- and is the recipient of several awards based on its values approach to business -- resonated with the attenders.  The culture is strongly supported by Eaton's CEO and senior management.

We frequently hear that LSS will not succeed, or will only be marginally successful without senior leadership's direct involvement and commitment.  Unhappily, in may organizations that is not forthcoming.  Drucker famously said that senior managers don't act unless thier back is up against the wall.  I am not sure that is true, but for sure many senior leaders have more on their plate than they can handle.

It is our job as LSS practitioners to make the case for quality, and because stockholders look at numbers, the economic case for quality resonates with them.  We can bemoan the fact that our leaders don't support us, or we can find ways to make a case that speaks to their direct needs and satisfies their priorities. 

Russ

Posted by Dr. C.W. Russ Russo at 12:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The LSS Opening Keynote Monday moring was delivered by Betsy Kinter, Director of Field Assistance for the Internal Revenue service. The presentation was excellent and a real eye opener.

The IRS had come under significant fire from Congress about their performance in the late 90s particularly about their customer service and their ability to measure their performance.  They began a process based on Six Sigma to modernize their operations.

Several thoughts struck me as smart about their approach.

First, they were not in a mad rush with lots of horn blowing to launch a great new, save the world, program.  Their approach was well planned, steady, based on a long range plan of development based on demonstrated results.  It is obviously difficult to initiate a large scale cultural shift in such a large organization, and their approach is succeeding.

They also were smart up front about establishing "line os sight" metrics and responsiility so front line workers and senior executives and everyone in between understood expectations and how their performance both mattered and would be judged.

Food for thought

Russ  

Posted by Dr. C.W. Russ Russo at 06:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Monday, as part of the Economic Case for Quality inititiave, I was pleased to be asked to facilitiate a Roundtable Discussion of Senior LSS leaders.  Mike Adams teed up some issues for the group and then participants engaged in small group discussion around selected topics.

The energy in the room was fantastic.  It was a terrific learning experience for folks to talk with their peers...people who are facing the same issues and problems....and learn from each other.  Everyone agreed that the time was productive and useful and they came away with practical and useful things to apply back home.

In an off-line discussion we wondered how to get these learnings out to a other peeople...and my take is "Be There, Or Be Square"  We could send out summaries, or publish reviews, but the true learning is in the experience, both listening, offering knowledge, and asking questions.  I hope ASQ will expand their offerings of additional round tables.  They are a terrific way to connect with experienced people and gain lots of practical information.

Russ

Posted by Dr. C.W. Russ Russo at 06:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This is turning out to be a great conference.  For those of us from colder climates it is great to see sun and be warm.

I understand there is a larger number of people here this year than in past years...should I say a statistically significantly larger number of people.

What really strikes me as interesting is the quality of the presentations and the level of the presentations.  The program seems to be reaching out for an experienced audience and has moved beyound the basics.  Attendees are folks who have established LSS initiatives and are looking for ways to expand and improve their practice.  There are some things for "newbies" but I am glad to see that the program planners are focusing on those of us who have been around for awhile.

It would be interesting to hear what opportunities experienced practitioners are using to improve their skill set.

Russ 

Posted by Dr. C.W. Russ Russo at 06:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"There are innovators who are 'kissed by the Muses,' and whose innovations are the result of a 'flash of genius' rather than of hard, organized, purposeful work. But such innovations cannot be replicated. They cannot be taught and they cannot be learned. ...

"But also, contrary to popular belief in the romance of invention and innovation, 'flashes of genius' are uncommonly rare. What is worse, I know of not one such 'flash of genius' that turned into an innovation. They all remained brilliant ideas.

"The purposeful work of innovation resulting from analysis, system, and hard work is all that can be discussed and presented as the practice of innovation. ... And the extraordinary performer in innovation, as in every other area, will be effective only if grounded in the discipline and mastery of it.

"Purposeful, systematic innovation begins with the analysis of ... the seven sources of opportunity: ... [which are] the organization's own unexpected successes and failures ... incongruities ... process needs ... changes in market structures ... changes in demographics ... changes in meaning and perception ... [and] new knowledge. All sources of innovative opportunity should be systematically analyzed and studied. It is not enough to be alerted to them. ...

"An innovation, to be effective, has to be simple and it has to be focused. It should do only one thing; otherwise it confuses. If it is not simple, it won't work. ... All effective innovations are breathtakingly simple. Indeed, the greatest praise an innovation can receive is for people to say, 'This is obvious. Why didn't I think of it?' "

Peter F. Drucker, The Essential Drucker, Harper, 2001, pp. 273-4.

Posted by Dr. C.W. Russ Russo at 06:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As Six Sigma professionals we have our own common language...but as we communicate to others in the organization, sometimes what we say is not what they hear.  I wonder what specific tactics we might use to make sure our message is not only heard but understood.  For example, we know an "elevator speech" is just enough information to give to a senior stakeholder ... What other good communication strategies have you used to get you ideas across????

Posted by Dr. C.W. Russ Russo at 09:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)